The Vacancy
by watchoutforfallingdinosaurs
Summary: The one activity that was solely, undeniably his was still available. Cyborg wouldn't want him to mope forever, anyway. It was time to get a new video game buddy. BBRae friendship.


That time that I LIED about Oneshot Wednesday. I will be away for a long while this week, so I said, what the hell, I'll publish on Monday because I will have no internet Wednesday and it's already done and I do what I want! Rewatching the original Teen Titans series and had totally forgotten that in Titans East Pt. 1, Beast Boy attempts to get Raven to play video games while Cy's away..._by gluing her hands to the controller. _This screams fanfic, so I present...fanfic.

* * *

Beast Boy was inconsolable the day Cyborg left. He knew it was only supposed to be for two weeks, but he could hardly fathom one day without his best buddy, let alone _fourteen _days. Cy was constantly by his side: in battle, during training, and during their free time. At Beast Boy's insistence when the tower was built, even their rooms were next to each other. He was still recovering from Cyborg's last extended stay away from home, and for that, Cyborg had at least still been in town. Now his best friend was going to be across the country. Why did it have to be Cyborg?

"Can't someone else go help those guys?" Beast Boy asked for the eighth time in as many minutes.

"Like who, green bean?" Cyborg looked at Beast Boy with both pity and frustration. "Robin's gotta lead our team, Starfire can't tell a wrench from a power drill, and Raven needs to stay here and keep you in check."

"Ha ha," Beast Boy huffed sarcastically. "We made it on our own when we started. Maybe they should...figure things out themselves?"

Cyborg paused, almost as if he were considering Beast Boy's idea, but he was stern as he turned to finish packing the T-Car. "No one on their team has my technical skills. I planned and built this Tower myself." Beast Boy pouted. "With help," Cyborg continued with an affectionate rumpling of his friend's hair. "They need me more than you do right now."

"Nu-uh!" Before Cyborg could protest, Beast Boy was flat on the ground, holding tightly onto his ankle. "I need my video game buddy here."

"Get off me, little man!"

"Not until you say you're staying!"

"Beast Boy, I have to go!"

"They can deal with it on their own!"

"BEAST BOY!" Cyborg cried finally, yanking the shapeshifter from the ground by his shoulders and looking him square in the face. "I. Am. Leaving." He set Beast Boy down gently, and bent down to keep eye contact. "But I'm coming back."

Beast Boy nodded, but his bottom lip quivered dangerously.

Cyborg's eye widened. "Nah, man, don't you do it."

His ears drooped. He could see the beginnings of a tear forming in Cyborg's eye as he crossed his arms stubbornly. "Don't you do it, Beast Boy!"

It was too late. Seeing Cyborg getting upset was too much. Beast Boy wailed, wrapping his arms around Cyborg's midriff as tightly as he possibly could. "Damnit, grass stain!" Cyborg howled, embracing Beast Boy in return. The two boys stood like that for a moment, whining and sharing their misery at the prospect of being apart, until a raspy voice broke the tension.

"We were going to come down and say goodbye, Cyborg, but it seems that you two need a moment."

Instantly, Beast Boy and Cyborg broke apart, Cyborg sniffling a little as Beast Boy rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. Raven, Robin, and Starfire were all standing (or in Starfire's case, hovering) awkwardly in the door to the garage.

Starfire gasped dramatically. "You have been weeping!"

"No!" Cyborg yelled mid-sniffle. "I don't see anyone crying, do you, Beast Boy?"

"Nope, no crying here." Beast Boy made an effort to stop his voice from wavering, but to his dismay, it cracked sharply instead.

Raven opened her mouth—probably to make some snarky comment—but Robin turned on the spot and gave her a look with such fierceness that she closed her mouth again, rolling her eyes. He then walked up to Cyborg and placed a hand on his shoulder. "We're gonna miss you, Cyborg. Make sure you give us a call when you get there, or at least when you're close."

"Yes, Mom," Cyborg replied playfully, giving his leader a light punch in the arm.

Robin looked aghast at Cyborg's statement, but couldn't get a word in edgewise because Starfire had flown straight over and wrapped Cyborg up in one of her signature crushing hugs. "Farewell, Cyborg. You promise to do the 'checking in' during your journey along the roads, yes? I will be most displeased if you do not."

"Can't have that. Goodness knows I don't need an angry Tamaranian warrior princess coming to get me."

She giggled. Behind her, Raven stood still, looking unsure of herself. There wasn't any attitude in her face, a sure sign that she was truly distraught. "Don't worry, Rae, you'll be fine. You've got BB to keep you company," Cyborg teased, taking her hand and patting it.

Raven snorted indelicately. "Of course," she drawled. Beast Boy stuck his tongue out at her, but abruptly stopped when Cyborg moved away from her and opened the front door of the T-Car.

"Well, that's that, y'all." Beast Boy could tell that Cyborg was trying to be non-chalant. "This cyborg's hittin' the road!"

And that had indeed been that. When Cyborg wheeled out of the garage and took to the water (the closest road was on the mainland) Beast Boy had instantly shifted into a hawk and flown alongside him, only turning back when he reached the city limits. He spotted Cyborg waving goodbye from the corner of his eye and tried not to think about how miserable these next two weeks were going to be.

The thought persisted, however, and only strengthened when Beast Boy trudged into the living room to find that Cyborg hadn't already started up a round of Lightning Speed Riders 3. Everything else was the same; Starfire was cooking some inedible alien dish for Robin, who looked simultaneously horrified and honored to be her taster, and Raven was reading on the couch.

_Raven_. The one activity that was solely, undeniably his was still available. Cyborg wouldn't want him to mope forever, anyway. It was time to get a new video game buddy.

Beast Boy casually leapt over the back of the couch and took up the Gamestation controller, groaning as loudly as possible in Raven's direction. "Ugh. Playing video games alone is _totally lame. _I sure wish that _someone _would put down her book and play with me."

Raven didn't budge. "An Oscar worthy performance, Beast Boy, but unfortunately, this season you have been snubbed. Maybe next year."

"Awww, come on, Rae Rae," he said cheekily, holding out the other controller. "Get your nose out of that dusty book and join the rest of us in the 21st century."

"Must have been born in the wrong era. It can't be helped."

Beast Boy changed tack immediately. "But Raaaaaveeeen, who's gonna play with me? With Cyborg gone for two weeks—"

"No."

"I need a new video game buddy! Just for two weeks. I promise. Then you can go back to being all grumpy and anti-fun."

Raven massaged her temple with one hand. "Beast Boy, I will not play video games with you."

"Raeeeeeee..."

Without so much as a sideways glance, Raven closed her book, smacked him lightly on the back of the head with it, and sank into a newly opened portal at her feet. So she wasn't going to give in, huh?

_Challenge accepted._

Beast Boy turned around to see Robin shaking his head, and thought he caught a mumbled, "Here we go."

* * *

The next morning, Raven woke up rather later than expected; the loss of Cyborg's presence in the tower had been harder on her than she'd thought it would be. She suspected that it had something to do with the overwhelming sadness emanating from Beast Boy's room down the hall. Momentarily, Raven pitied the changeling as she took her cloak from its place on top of her dresser, clasping it over her shoulder before opening her door and promptly losing all pity for Beast Boy.

On the blank wall across from her room, a large poster had been put up. Surrounded by swirling colors and crude drawings of a small green figure and a hooded blue figure in front of a large screen was a series of words in large block letters reading, "VACANCY: Temporary Bestest Video Game Buddy" and below that, "all applications from Raven will be accepted."

Raven marched directly up to the wall and tore the poster down (as cleanly as possible; she didn't want to open the floodgates by tearing it up when he'd put so much work into it.) Grumbling at his impudence all the way to the living room, she headed straight for the kitchen and reached for her tea kettle, hoping to calm her nerves.

Attached to her tea kettle was a smaller version of the poster, advertising the same "vacancy."

"You've got to be kidding me."

"Do you like it?" She could hear the smile in his voice. "It took me, like, forever."

There was no guilt about shredding the poster up this time; Raven's powers disintegrated the paper in a matter of seconds. But he was still smiling when she opened the cupboard to get her tea as the kettle heated. Raven chose to ignore him this time and opened her box of teabags...or, at least she thought it was full of teabags. From what she could see, it was actually full of business card sized advertisements. Fuming, she rounded on him, that stupid grin still plastered to his face.

"Rae Rae, you're a shoo-in for the job." Her eyes glowed menacingly. Beast Boy pressed on, undeterred. "It would be totally stupid to pass up..."

The tea kettle squealed, and a fountain of boiling water was expelled forcefully from the spout. Raven stalked out of the living room, enraged, leaving behind a barely unscathed Beast Boy. She knew, somehow, that he was far from done.

When Cyborg came home, he was in for an earful. Beast Boy keeping her company, indeed.

* * *

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Azarath Metrion Zinthos..."

After her miniature explosion in the kitchen that morning, meditation had seemed incredibly appealing. An hour later, Raven was in a state of almost complete inner peace.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Azarath Metrion Zinthos..."

Something, some foreign thought, was trying to make its way in, but she pushed it aside gently.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Azarath Metrion Zinthos..."

There were words forming now, swirling into existence in her mind's eye, and again she tried to cast them out.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Azarath Metrion Zinthos..."

The thought was faint, but fully formed now. Reluctantly, she stopped resisting and continued her meditation as a whisper of words echoed softly in her mind.

"...play video games...play video games..."

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos...play video g—"

Her eyelids fluttered open and she crashed to the ground, the peace she had discovered shattered. Twisting her head slowly to her right, she whispered a question. "Beast Boy?"

"Yes, Raven?"

Thin, dark vines of power began to emerge from underneath her cloak. "Get. Out."

Beast Boy didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

"Hey Rae."

"What?"

"Wanna come play—"

Groaning, she closed her communicator. She set it down on her bedside table only to be met instantly with a second melodic beeping. Furious, she opened the communicator and slammed it shut immediately, returning to her meditation. When her communicator rang a third time, however, Raven gripped it tightly in her hand and shrieked, "BEAST BOY, IF YOU CALL ME AGAIN, I WILL—"

"Raven?"

Raven froze, actually looking at the bewildered face that was staring back at her. "Robin?"

Robin was clearly trying to hold back a slowly growing smirk, but it wasn't working. "I was just calling to see if you needed anything from the grocery store. Beast Boy getting a little beastly on you?"

"He's practically been buzzing around my head since Cyborg left. It's driving me insane."

"Literally or figuratively?"

"Honestly? Probably both." She narrowed her eyes, scrunched her eyebrows together. "Wouldn't be possible for you to put him through a few extra hours of training, would it?"

Robin actually, genuinely laughed, something that was almost as rare as Raven's own laughter. "Oh no. I'm not getting involved. I know better than to come between you two when you're having your little spats."

"Oh? And why is that, Boy Wonder?"

His face darkened. "Because I know I'd be next."

* * *

Choosing to waste as little time as possible in places where Beast Boy could get to her, Raven teleported into the living room rather than walking to it. Cyborg had only been gone for a few days, but Raven found herself wishing that he would come home more than Beast Boy did. She wasn't even surprised when she found a controller waiting for her when she reached for her tea; without a second thought, she grabbed the controller and proceeded to throw it onto the couch.

At least, she tried to.

The controller was stuck fast to the palm of her hand.

"What?!" she spluttered, reaching with her other hand to remove the controller. To her horror, neither hand would break free. Throwing her head back, she called, "Beast Boy, you are going to regret this."

"GOTCHA!"

Before Raven figured out what was happening, she felt herself being lifted off the ground and plopped unceremoniously onto the couch. A rush of air brushed her face, and she heard the couch cushions sink beside her. She whirled around, giving Beast Boy the dirtiest look she could muster. "You have made a serious mistake."

"When have I not?" he asked, turning on the Gamestation and winking at her. "Come on, Rae."

She knew that it would be easy to remove the controller with her powers, and that Beast Boy was only one "Azarath Metrion Zinthos" away from being teleported to the other side of town. But he was giving her that look, the one where he lowered his chin just enough to make his puppy dog eyes seem that much wider, and his one little fang poked out from behind his lip expectantly.

She could sit still for a few minutes. She could look at the screen. She could even give him a half-hearted smile.

But by Azar, she was _not _going to play.

* * *

I just want you all to know that I think I have the best readers ever. I hope you enjoyed some more BBRae antics. Feel free to request oneshots for Oneshot Wednesdays!


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